Over recent years a number of communications techniques have evolved which, whilst using digital networks for transmission, nor to some extent the delayed delivery paradigm of traditional postal services rather than real time communications, although such real time communications are often supported by the same network. According to the delayed delivery paradigm, a message is composed in its entirety, and submitted to a named addressee, on the understanding that the addressee will at some undetermined point in the near future receive the message. Examples of such delayed delivery methods include Short Message Service (SMS) transmissions over cellular telephone networks, and electronic mail (email) over the internet. The advantages of such methods over real time communications include the fact that the author is not under pressure to submit his message until he is fully satisfied with it, and that the author can be sure the addressee will eventually receive the message whether or not they are at the moment of transmission able to receive the message.
The Short Message Service—Point to Point (SMS-PP) is defined in GSM recommendation 03.40. According to this mechanism, messages are submitted from an originating device to a Gateway Message Service Centre via a service channel of the network. The GMSC stores the message, and attempts to forward it to the destination device defined in the message. Where it proves impossible to successfully forward the message, the GSMC queues the message for a further attempt in the future. The time at which a message actually reaches the destination device is therefore entirely unpredictable, since it depends not only on the delays and inherent in the system, and the risks associated with the use of a service channel for data transmission but further on the time at which the user of the destination device happens to turn it on.
FIG. 1 shows the sequence of steps involved in the delivery of an SMS message 119 in a case where a destination device 17 is switched off. The message 119 is composed as indicated by communication line 111 by a user 11 and passed on from the originating device 13 to the network 15 as indicated by communication line 131. The network sends the message on to the destination device 17 as indicated by communication line 151, and in the event where the destination device is switched off or otherwise unable to receive the message, and accordingly does not acknowledge receipt of the message, the network retransmits the message as indicated by communication lines 153 and 155, until the message is successfully delivered and an acknowledgement 171 is eventually received.
The delayed delivery paradigm can however bring certain disadvantages. Imagine the scenario where the author sends a friend an SMS “give me a ring when you're free”, but actually sees the addressee before he gets the message. Then, when the addressee turns on his phone, he gets the message, and calls the author for no reason.
In other words, when sending an SMS message the user is not aware of the time at which the message will be delivered although he can be advised when the message is delivered. This can mean that the message is received when it is no longer necessary.
Certain prior art publications consider some aspects of these issues.
EP1648126A2 relates to a method and system of automatically sending a message based on predefined sending condition. The method comprises registering a message sending condition in a first communication terminal device. Thereafter, the method comprises obtaining presence information of a second communication terminal device user at the first communication terminal device via communication network. The method further comprises determining whether the message sending condition is met and thereafter, sending the message if the message sending condition is met.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,014 relates to a method and system of displaying short messages based on user defined indicators. The user defined indicators can be for example, a predefined time and a predefined location in a service area etc. The method includes receiving and storing of a short message and a location indicator by an organizational node in a memory associated with the organizational node. The location indicator is associated with the location information sent by originating mobile terminal. The method further comprises determining the position of receiving mobile terminal in cellular network. Thereafter, displaying the short message based on the location indicator. The method further comprises moving the short message after display to an action database. Thereafter storing an additional indicator associated with the short message defined by user of the receiving mobile terminal in the action database. The short message is subsequently displayed based on the additional location indicator.
WO2005107290A1 relates to a method and system for sending and receiving messages. The method of sending comprises composing a message, determining at least one delivery condition and sending the message. The examples of delivery condition include an expiration time or date, location parameter, phone call parameter etc. The method of receiving comprises receiving a message and delaying the notification of the message to the user based on the delivery condition associated with the message. The method of receiving further comprises generating a new message notification to the user when the delivery condition is met.
EP 1613102A1 relates to a method and system allowing a subscriber to flexibly control the delivery of a short message. The system comprises a database storing instructions for handling messages by a first subscriber. The examples of instructions include forwarding all the short messages from a second subscriber to a third subscriber. The sending as well as the receiving subscriber may specify the instructions for short message handling. The method comprises storing the short message handling instructions in the database. The method further comprises sending or receiving a short message including the sending and receiving party identification information. Thereafter, the method comprises performing a lookup in the database for the instructions and executing the instructions defined in the database.
The 3GPP specification for SMS called “3GPP TS 23.040 V3.9.0 (2002-06)”, which is downloadable from http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_t/TSG_T/TSGT—04/Docs/PDFs/TP-99126.pdf provides for the possibility of cancelling an already-submitted message, with regard to the “9.2.3.19 TP-Command-Type (TP-CT)” command, which has the effect “Delete previously submitted Short Message”.
It is an object of the invention to address certain drawbacks of the prior art, in particular by making it unnecessary for a user to pay for the unnecessary transmission of a message, whilst ensuring that an intended recipient does not receive messages which are no longer relevant.